Crystalline semiconductor materials are used increasingly for numerous applications in logic, memory, energy, and photonic devices. Generally speaking, large-grain crystalline materials, such as microcrystalline and monocrystalline materials, have lower optical, thermal, and electrical resistivity, than smaller-grain or amorphous materials. Amorphous materials typically melt at lower temperatures than corresponding crystalline materials, typically have lower electrical conductivity, and are typically less optically transmissive and absorptive.
Many methods are commonly used to make crystalline devices, including various forms of epitaxy, annealing, and deposition. A common theme among all these processes is time. Slower processes allow more time for atoms deposited or moved from their locations to find the lowest energy positions in a solid matrix.
As the size of electronic devices continues to decline, the desirable electrical properties of crystalline semiconductors are becoming more attractive. In particular, the future progression of Moore's Law is driving the development of vertically integrated monolithic 3D devices such as flash memory and DRAM that benefit from large-scale crystallization and recrystallization. Moreover, as the dimension of conductive components declines, resistivity of those components is becoming an issue for manufacturers, and crystal structure of the metals and alloys that make up those conductive components is becoming an active area of investigation. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for high-volume, cost-effective methods of crystallizing materials used in semiconductor processing.